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Sociology Research Methods: A Guide to Data Collection and Analysis, Exams of Sociology

A comprehensive overview of research methods commonly employed in sociology. It covers various techniques for data collection, including questionnaires, interviews, and surveys, and explores the advantages and disadvantages of each method. The document also delves into sampling techniques, such as random sampling, stratified sampling, and snowball sampling, and discusses the importance of selecting representative samples for research. Additionally, it examines different theoretical perspectives in sociology, including positivism and interactionism, and their implications for research methodology.

Typology: Exams

2024/2025

Available from 02/04/2025

AmiaSmith
AmiaSmith 🇨🇦

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Sociology research methods
Aim -
the aim of the work, i.e. the overall purpose of the study, should be clearly defined
example: ''Does the media have an effect on the way young children behave?''
Hypothesis -
A prediction of what you think you will find
example: ''Children whose parents are unemployed do less well in school.''
Pilot studies -
A small scale trial to test a particular research method before using it in a research
project.
why do we use pilot study? -
Pilot studies are simply a REHEARSAL for the main event- an opportunity for the
researcher to try out their chosen methods and iron out problems with their tools and
techniques.
*use this in 4 markers when explaining how you would overcome such a situation
Mixed methods -
social research that combines a variety of methods e.g. observation, questionnaires,
interviews etc.
Triangulation of data -
The accuracy of the data gathered using one method can be compared with data
gathered using alternative methods e.g. questionnaires, interviews and secondary sources.
What are they used for? -
Different methods can be used to collect data on the same research topic. This allows
researchers to see a particular issue from a VARIETY OF DIFFERENT ANGLES. Not only
will there be more data for the researcher to analyse, but also the quality of the data may well
be improved.
Questionnaire -
a set of written questions which are completed by a number of respondents to gather
desired information
How to make a good questionnaire (overcoming barriers that the researcher may face): -
▪Details should be included that clearly tell the respondent the purpose of the
research. Respondents should be aware that completion is voluntary (informed consent) and
that information given is confidential
▪If the researcher is researching children then clear instructions should be given on how to
complete the questionnaire
▪Again when researching children the wording of the questions should be clear and easy for
respondents to understand
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Sociology research methods

Aim - the aim of the work, i.e. the overall purpose of the study, should be clearly defined example: ''Does the media have an effect on the way young children behave?'' Hypothesis - A prediction of what you think you will find example: ''Children whose parents are unemployed do less well in school.'' Pilot studies - A small scale trial to test a particular research method before using it in a research project. why do we use pilot study? - Pilot studies are simply a REHEARSAL for the main event- an opportunity for the researcher to try out their chosen methods and iron out problems with their tools and techniques. *use this in 4 markers when explaining how you would overcome such a situation Mixed methods - social research that combines a variety of methods e.g. observation, questionnaires, interviews etc. Triangulation of data - The accuracy of the data gathered using one method can be compared with data gathered using alternative methods e.g. questionnaires, interviews and secondary sources. What are they used for? - Different methods can be used to collect data on the same research topic. This allows researchers to see a particular issue from a VARIETY OF DIFFERENT ANGLES. Not only will there be more data for the researcher to analyse, but also the quality of the data may well be improved. Questionnaire - a set of written questions which are completed by a number of respondents to gather desired information How to make a good questionnaire (overcoming barriers that the researcher may face): - ▪Details should be included that clearly tell the respondent the purpose of the research. ➡Respondents should be aware that completion is voluntary (informed consent) and that information given is confidential ▪If the researcher is researching children then clear instructions should be given on how to complete the questionnaire ▪Again when researching children the wording of the questions should be clear and easy for respondents to understand

▪The length of the questionnaire should be kept as short as possible (more likely to be completed)- this helps to overcome problems like low response rate What are they used for? - Questionnaire are very useful to researchers who wish to gather factual information or measure attitudes and opinions on specific issues Advantages of questionnaires -

  • Questionnaires are more cost effective to administer
  • Questionnaire can overcome some of the problems associated with gaining access to respondents
  • avoid potential problems created by the interactions between the interviewer and interviewee- respondents may give honest answers because the researcher is not present
  • Questionnaires are often reliable- numeric data they produce can be used to make comparisons and identify patterns and trends disadvantages of questionnaire -
  • they place limitations on responses (yes or no) which means the researcher doesn't find out exactly what people think and therefore lacks validity
  • provides little or no opportunity for the researcher to check the TRUTHFULNESS of responses- people may not take it seriously and rush their answers
  • Low response rates can distort the results and make it impossible to draw any general conclusions from the data Self-completion questionnaires - respondents complete the questionnaire THEMSELVES and then return it to the researcher interview questionnaire - Questions are read out to the respondent by the researcher, who then records the respondent's answers Closed questions - Respondents are presented with either a list of options or a two-way choice and have to select the response with which they most agree. Open questions - respondents are free to answer the question in a way that they like; there are no pre- set options. The respondents can give their own opinion instead of having a choice given to them Trends - patterns of behaviour or attitudes seen in evidence Standardised questions - All respondents are asked the same questions in the same order, allowing for COMPARISONS to be made Low response rate -

anyone included in the target population has an equal chance of being selected regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity etc. Non-probability sampling - people in the target population don't have an equal chance of being selected- the researcher selects who they want in their study random sampling - The sample is chosen completely by random which means everyone has an equal chance of being selected e.g. pulling the names out of a hat Advantage of random sampling - random sampling can work well with a large population Disadvantage of random sampling - may not be representative- accidentally biased with certain groups OVER or UNDER represented stratified sampling - A sample selected to represent groups within the total population. Selecting member in proportion that they occur in the population e.g. 2.5% of British of Indian origin, so 2.5% of your sample should be of Indian origin Advantage of stratified sampling - REPRESENTATIVE of the target population Disadvantages of stratified sampling - can be time consuming as the sub-categories have to be identified and proportions calculated systematic sampling - choosing participants from a sampling frame using a system e.g. numbering the participants 1,2,3 and then selecting every 3rd person to be a participant Advantages of systematic sampling - Unbiased samples from large populations Disadvantages of systematic sampling - NOT representative- accidentally biased with certain groups OVER or UNDER represented Volunteer sampling - individuals who have chosen to be involved in a study Opportunity sampling - selecting people who are most easily available at the time of the study. Snowball Sampling -

participants are selected from an initial contact who puts the researcher in touch with other possible participants Advantages of snowball sampling - An easy way to find participants with a certain attribute (drug user or member of a cult) who you wouldn't usually have access to Disadvantage of snowball sampling - some people may not want to be found, so sample is too small to draw conclusions on the larger population Which methods use a sampling frame? - -systematic sampling -stratified sampling -random sampling Which methods do NOT use a sampling frame? - -volunteer sampling -opportunity sampling -snowball sampling CASTLE - Class Age Sex Time Location Ethnicity survey - A study, in the form of an interview or questionnaire, that provides researchers with information about how people think and act. advantages of surveys -

  • surveys can generate large amounts of quantitative data that can be used to identify patterns and trends.
  • surveys are likely to provide a representative picture of society or a particular aspect of social behaviour
  • they can be cost effective and QUICK compared to other methods like face to face unstructured interviews disadvantages of surveys -
  • large amounts of data can be difficult and time consuming to interpret
  • surveys are NOT useful if the researcher requires in-depth detail that qualitative methods can reveal
  • surveys may not always be valid as most people aren't generally honest or give truthful responses to the question they are asked interview -

▪If respondents don't understand the questions being asked they can ask the researcher directly, not only will this increase the validity of responses but also form a bond between the researcher and researchee as they feel they can trust the researcher. Disadvantages of interviews - ▪If there isn't a bond, the researchee won't open up this may affect the validity ▪unstructured interviews are time-consuming and complicated to analyse ▪Because it takes too long you cannot research everyone which means the researcher will have to select participants which may not be representative ▪Unstructured interviews are not reliable- it is hard to repeat it because you will most likely get different responses ▪Interviewer bias: the interviewer may influence the respondents to answer a particular way. This is NOT an ACCURATE picture of the respondents true feelings How to overcome problems such as interview bias: - -dressing appropriately for the circumstances (either formal or informal) -remaining PASSIVE and neutral in reaction to any statements made content analysis - research method using predetermined categories to count how often something appears in the mass media- analyses society by interpreting words and images from film, art, music and other media PRIMARY method- using secondary data to create their OWN data Operationalisation - is where you take a topic or concept and make it TESTABLE For example, if we are concerned with the effect of media violence on aggression, then we need to be VERY CLEAR what we mean by the different terms. What are they used for? - This is used to study the content of the MEDIA. Any form of media can be analysed to see how a social group, event or issue is represented. This is done by preparing a number of relevant categories and counting how often the categories appear. These categories have to be operationalised, this means researcher knows what to look for in each category How to make a good content analysis - Just writing down what you see in the media is too VAGUE -making a table or grid that categories all factors you should be considering -operationalising what you mean will also be CRUCIAL -carefully considering and selecting your media sample before beginning the research Examples of the categories might be - -'Ethnic negative' -'Male provider' -'Youth as troublemaker' Advantages of content analysis - -PRACTICAL- media is easy to access -ETHICAL- does not harm or deceive anyone

-Good way of analysing the media Disadvantages of content analysis - -Subjective- dependent on the person doing the content analysis -Pre-set categories may mean you miss information -so MANY media sources, so may be TIME CONSUMING to analyse them all Observation - watching with a purpose- in order to gain information. Examples - -James Patrick used observation method to study gangs -Eileen Barker used observation method to study what made people join the religious cult called 'Moonies' What are they used for? - -collects QUALITATIVE data -Particularly useful for researching deviant or criminal groups where methods like questionnaires would NOT work (TABOO subjects) What makes a good observation? - it must be PRACTICAL: -the researcher should be able to ACCESS the group being studied -the researcher should be able to research and observe the SUBJECT MATTER -In covert observation 'eye witness' testimony- the researcher should attempt to remember EVERYTHING that happens in order to get VALID results Non-participant observation - the researcher watches and observes without taking part in the activities of the group participant observation - the researcher acts like a member of the group under study and basically does whatever they do Covert - This is SECRET observation. The group being studied is not aware that the observation is taking place. Overt - the group being observed KNOWS that the research is happening, either because the researcher has explained what they are doing or because of their visible presence Advantages of observations - -Non-participant observation involves OBJECTIVE systematic recording -Non-participant observation can be high in reliability -You get to see what is going on with your own eyes which means you don't have to rely on someone else's memory therefore high in VALIDITY -Being undercover (covert) means you see them in their natural environment -increases validity -If your NOT undercover (overt) it means participants have given informed consent

Psychological experiment which measured the individual's willingness to obey an AUTHORITY figure who instructed them to perform acts that conflicted with their personal conscience. The Milgram experiment involved DECEIT. If participants were aware of the actual purpose of the experiment, it would have invalidated the results Standford Prison Experiment - The experiment had people playing guards and prisoners in a simulated prison. The purpose was to investigate the psychological effects of perceived power, focusing on the struggle between prisoners and guards. The outcome was that the "guards" and "prisoners" quickly adapted to assigned roles and soon prisoners became distressed, so the experiment had to be called off after only 6 days. Ethical Problems - Both Milgram and Stanford experiments had the potential to cause harm to participants Case study - in-depth investigations of a particular group or social structure, for example, a delinquent gang, a school. A case study usually represents a 'typical' example: generalizations can be made about the behaviour of similar groups or social structures When is it appropriate to use a case study? -

  • When there is a need for an in-depth investigation. -when a sociologist is interested in building theories (ideas that explain society or forms of social behaviour) Advantages of case studies - -Able to deal with complicated social situations -allows for the TRIANGULATION of data (use of more than 1 method in research) -the sociologist is concerned with an in-depth study of real-world situations, increasing the likely VALIDITY of their findings Disadvantages of case studies - -Case studies can be low in RELIABILITY (unique to other case studies) -the researcher may be faced with a number of ethical issues (participant observation) -the observer effect may distort the data -it can be difficult to arrange the necessary ACCESS required to to do the case study. For example schools and hospitals may be reluctant to allow in a researcher who may gain access to sensitive information longitudinal study - a study that observes the same participants on many occasions over a long period of time. The idea is to track CHANGES in the lives of the participants involved in the study Examples - Seven Up!: participants had been interviewed and filmed at various points in their lives. Most of the group who came from working-class families have remained in that socio- economic class 😥

Advantages of longitudinal studies - -can be used to track lifetime changes in employment and social mobility (movement UP or DOWN the social scale) -they enable researcher to look in detail at the relationship between socio-economic class and educational achievement Disadvantages of longitudinal studies - -time-consuming and expensive -participants can drop out (attrition rate), which can affect the results and make it less REPRESENTATIVE -because participants know they are being observed they may change their behaviour Ethnography - the scientific study of different people and cultures What are they used for? - Ethnography uses the approach developed by anthropologists to study our own society: -the researcher using an ethnographic approach will need to spend time working in the FIELD recording detailed observation and conducting interviews with people in their natural environment Advantages of Ethnography - -based on the direct observation of social behaviour -a type of QUALITATIVE research providing detailed in-depth data -it allows COMPARISONS to be made between different cultures, comparing different ways of life Disadvantages of Ethnography - -time-consuming and expensive -ETHICAL PROBLEMS with regards to the privacy of informants who can reveal intimate details of their lives -observer effect